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| Yes | 76% | 258 votes | Total: 339 votes | |
| No | 24% | 81 votes |
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Add to FavoritesThe war on terrorism has become the war on American citizens. Noam Chomsky recently said "there is no war on terrorism," and he is correct.
Despite all of the prisoners held at Guantanamo Bay, and all of the publicity Homeland Security and the White House have dredged up every time they announce another arrest, only about 20% of the people arrested for terrorist-related charges have been convicted. According to a Syracuse University report, out of approximately 6,500 people arrested and held, 5,200 people are either innocent or there is not enough evidence to convict.
So the war on terror has not been productive, and when we look at how the government is monitoring possible terror suspects we find out they are instead monitoring U.S. citizens. The government has admitted to illegal wire-taps of citizens phone lines. AT&T will not confirm or deny their co-operation with the government because in their words, to do so would jeopardize national security. This week President Bush told federal courts he needed to expand the federal wire-tapping program even more, so the feds can listen in on more phone calls without court warrants. Microsoft has denied there are back doors in their Windows software that allow the federal government to access any computer without permission. Yet reports continue to grow that Vista owners are claiming IP addresses associated with federal computers are contacting their PC's without permission.
Only July 17th, President Bush signed a new executive order that will become a law in mid-August unless Congress challenges it. The new law will allow the government to seize the property, cash, bank accounts, businesses, and every item owned by any U.S. citizen who is deemed a threat to the stabilization of Iraq, our so-called first line in the war on terrorism. The kicker in the new executive order is that the Secretary of the Treasury will decide if someone is a threat, and that they do not have to carry out any behavior against the government, just be deemed a threat and they will lose everything and have no legal recourse to appeal.
Citizens who are publicly calling for impeachment are being arrested. Recently a suburban Chicago couple was arrested and charged with multiple crimes for displaying a sign that said "Impeach Bush and Cheney - Liars!." A North Carolina man was arrested for hanging a U.S. flag upside down on his porch with a sign that said "Impeach Bush."
According to the White House, U.S. citizens have become the enemy. We are losing our rights to free speech and privacy, all in the name of a phantom war on terrorism that results in few convictions and instead brings widespread harassment to innocent Americans.
Learn more about this author, Dean Dooley.
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No
Civil Liberties and the War on Terror
The war on terror is like any other war. During a time of war limitations may be placed on certain civil liberties but this is not to say that the government may not overstep its authority. It is also important to remember that wars do not breakout spontaneously. The problems that lead up to war have to be ignored for a long time to reach the level where radical action is required. This is actually the real threat to civil liberties. Political opportunists will always use an event such as war to suppress the rights of others so that they have more for themselves.
The war on terror is not a traditional war where enemies are clearly defined and the attacks from which we defend ourselves are military. Our enemies are able to hide in plain site and walk about with little suspicion. Couple this with our age of advancing technology and with it more intelligent and ambitious people and the threat level from a few can be greater than that of an entire nation. Terrorism is an application of the age old art of psychological warfare. In this type of war the weapons being used are fear, disinformation, mistrust, psychological manipulation and mind control. These are tactics that have been used repeatedly throughout history successfully and have been improved upon by every generation. We should not underestimate those who use such tactics.
We should always be cautious when new laws or regulations are passes during times of war and we should always ask questions. Blind obedience and people willing to give away their power and their rights are how civil liberties are endangered. There is nothing wrong with being suspicious about things. Suspicion, paranoia and fear are useful to a point. As long as we ask questions and do not blindly give up are freedoms civil liberties won't be in danger. However if we continue to let problems in the world get bad enough to provoke military action then eventually what will happen will be worse then what's going on in Iraq.
In America we have so much. We have advanced technology, opportunity for education, employment and lifestyle. Sadly these things tend to make us arrogant. We think that because somebody comes from a less sophisticated country that they are not smart enough to hurt us. In the 1980's teenagers with nothing better to do manage to hack into military computers, phone company billing records and even interrupted trading in the stock exchange. It only takes one person one time to commit a catastrophic act. Ask yourself is it worth a short term restriction of certain liberties to avoid this. Also ask yourself if you are so concerned about your civil liberties then why doyou allow these problems to get this bad.
Learn more about this author, Marc Rios.
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